Ten Million Individuals Expected to Be Enrolled in Health Insurance Marketplaces by End of 2016

On October 15, 2015, U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced she expects 10 million individuals to be enrolled in coverage through Health Insurance Marketplaces and paying their premiums by the end of 2016.

“We believe 10 million is a strong and realistic goal,” Burwell said. “We’ve seen high levels of satisfaction with the Marketplace and expect the vast majority of our current customers will reenroll. And our target assumes that more than one out of every four of the eligible uninsured will select plans. We are working hard to improve the customer experience with upgrades to our site and more tools to help people find what they are looking for. We want to make it easier for consumers to find the right plan at the right price.”

Additional information on the estimate calculations and the complete announcement can be read here.

The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation released demographic analysis of uninsured individuals who are likely eligible for Marketplace coverage:

Almost half are between the ages of 18 and 34,

Almost 40 percent are living between 139 and 250 percent of the poverty level (approximately $30,000 – $60,000 for a family of four),

Almost 8 in 10 have an income that may qualify them for financial assistance, and

More than a third are people of color: about 19 percent are Hispanic, 14 percent are African-American, and 2 percent are Asian. There are also more men than women; around 57 percent are male.